1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a food material slicing machine and, more particularly, to an improved means of feeding material from a hopper to a cutter which slices or shreds the material.
2. Prior Art
In order to reduce the possibility of injury to the hands of an individual utilizing a food material slicing machine, it has been common practice to provide some sort of housing surrounding the cutter, with a hopper connected to the housing and having a hinged door for providing a passage through which the food material to be sliced can be inserted and the door closed prior to the material being fed to the cutter for slicing.
Many designs have been proposed for this purpose, such as that disclosed in British Patent Specification No. 699,590. In this type of device, it is to be noted that the hopper remains stationary while upper and lower cover plates are moved back and forth over the openings in such a manner that a direct path through the hopper to the cutter is unavailable at any time.
Another device, disclosed in German Pat. No. 1,240,721, although not directly related to food material processing equipment, is of interest as having a material feed hopper which directs objects to a cutter blade. It is to be noted that this type of device has a stationary cover plate for the hopper and the hopper moves to and from a position where it can feed material to the cutter.
This latter device utilizes a pivotable feed hopper which can be rotated into a position remote from the cutter where it can be loaded with material. The feed hopper is then rotated so that the material is directed to the cutter while the hopper is shielded to prevent access through the hopper to the cutter blade. A further feed member is provided in the hopper to force the material out of the hopper into the cutter.
It is to be noted that the additional feed member has a pivot point which is eccentric from that of the pivot point of the feed hopper, and that operation of the device requires the operator to first move the hopper into its position adjacent the cutter and then to rotate the feed member to empty the hopper. This would appear to require the operator to relieve positive control of the hopper in order to operate the feed member, or require the use of both hands in order to hold the hopper in position while moving the feed member to clear the hopper.